WILL I BE EMBARRASSED TO BUY THAT?

Valentine's Day is all about sugar cookies, conversation hearts, cards exchanged, "I LUV YOU'S"and sexy lingerie (this is probably more along a man's train of thought, not necessarily women). When I opened Dave's present I got what every girl wants. A CHI FLAT IRON. You betcha'! I knew he had some direction from the mother-in-law department. He asked my mom, "Am I going to be embarassed buying a Chi". Let's just say Dave swallowed his manhood and is now educated in Chi flat irons. He knows I am not a real romantic and this is the best gift.

VIVA LAS VEGAS - WHAT ARE THE CHANCES?

Dave and I had the opportunity to attend the "Wings of Hope" benefit dinner prior to Valentine's Day. Everyone who purchased a ticket attended a formal dinner and dance at the airport. All proceeds benefit a local medical foundation and children who need medical care/treatment in extended areas. Althought this was a charity event, at the end of the evening there would be a ticket drawn for one lucky couple to hop on a private plane and fly to Las Vegas, NV for the weekend. Everyone who attended was required to pack their bags, bring them to dinner and be ready for a weekend in Vegas if their name was drawn. Private flight, limousine, hotel, food, shopping & slot machines for a warm weekend in Vegas. Who could turn this down? Keep reading..................

We had a great time visiting with community friends, yummy dinner and background piano player. My boss actually sent Dave and I on behalf of my company, because he was donating the private plane and flight for the night. When I agreed to go he said if I won the trip to Vegas I had to decline because I was a representative of the company. You know when you have that feeling, "I could really win", but what are the chances? Towards the end of the night the drawing approached. Guess who won................................... NOT DAVE AND I, but a local doctor and his wife. I am sure they will have a great time. Wait a minute.......... Doc and his wife CAN'T GO for undisclosed reasons. Okay, it's only fair to draw again. Right? Well, you guessed it. "DAVID & LYNDLEY BUSCH, THE PLANE IS WAITING, GRAB YOUR BAGS AND BOARD FOR A WEEKEND IN VEGAS." What did they just say? I was so excited, but torn at the same time. One side of me said, "forget what your boss said because by the time he finds out you will already be in Vegas", but the other side said, "no you need to let someone else go, it's not fair". NOT FAIR FOR WHO? ME!!

What are the chances of winning out of hundreds of people?

I really need a vacation right now!

I deserve a vacation!

I rightfully won!

I could be in Las Vegas 1 hour from now!

Limo!

Night Life and Lights!

Shopping!

Fun!

No kids! Would Laura (Dave's mom) freak out if I didn't come home for a few days?? Oh well, she would manage. She would have to.

Dave's face said Vegas all over it, but I knew deep down I better do the right thing. I stood up in front of hundreds of people and said, "I am sorry, but I have to decline". Who turns down that opportunity? I had to okay, but let me tell you I was the biggest baby and pouted all night. I went home thinking, "I could be landing in Vegas right now". I eventually got over it, but still needed to blog about it. Someonelse had a fabulous weekend and trip. I guess that's all that matters.

HOMELESS FAMILY NEEDS HELP

Okay, so my mother-in-law said she is going to write a book about the drama and chaos in the Busch family's life. Let me start off by saying most of the chaos referenced below is SELF-INFLICTED (Dave would be the first one to tell you, it's not him but me. Sorry is your wife is a little ambitious and crazy at the same time).

Before the holidays Dave was offered a job to work for the AZ State Retirement System managing 6 billion dollars. Wow that's alot of money! We had big hopes and dreams to move on to the "big city". The job was there, a place to live, family, friends and most importantly the shopping. Well, after much debate we decided Dave could not make enough money to support our family, if Lyndley lived in the "big city" where the shopping was endless. At least in good ol' Farmington I am limited to Target, Maurices and the Buckle. The real reason we stayed was because our employers told us we couldn't go, and my family said I wouldn't last being away from them anyways. After it was all said and done it made more economical sense for our family to stay.

Well we got over that hurdle. Then, we had a few spec houses to sell. One sold right away. The other lagged behind way too long.................. Bad econimical times, high gas prices, election, holidays and cold weather. The house sat there vacant. We decided to sell our house and move up the street in the exact same house. Ours has a few more amentities and our realtor says, "it has the WOW factor." Well, the "WOW factor" worked because the first person that came to see our house bought it. I thought to myself, "that was so easy, now let's move of the street" and put the "WOW factor'' in that house. Not so soon, hold your horses... 3 days later the spec house sold. The good news: both houses sold. The bad news: where was the Busch family going to live? Lots of options to weigh out: 1)Rent 2)Build 3)Buy 4)Live in a van down by the river 5)Live with parents. After much thought and discussion we decided to buy an existing house. Now onto the house hunt with Mr. Realtor. A few days of endless internet searching and driving the neighborhoods like a stalker, we found a few houses to look at. Only one problem. They were way more expensive than our house and not nearly as nice. I was disgusted. What did I just do, what did I just give up? Dave constantly reminded me that I can not tackle another house building project right now. As much as I think I can, I can't right now. Who am kidding? He said, "let's spend our summer having fun and enjoying life" and "PROMISE ME NO MORE PROJECTS FOR AWHILE". Okay, I agreed.

I told our realtor, "We are homeless and need a place to live in 3 weeks". The options were narrowed real quick. There's a lot to build and there's a bunch of houses you don't like. I was so discouraged and a little panicky. I think I ate way too many oreo cookies with Gavin that week. I think this is longest I have ever blogged. It must be a way for women to vent without getting cut off by their husbands. Back to the house. We drove past a few houses, and I happened to mention to Mr. Realtor that I liked the style of those houses. A light bulb went off! See the following dialog:
Mr. Realtor: well the builder who built those houses lives in one right around the corner
Lyndley: What?? You think he would sell his house even though it is not for sale?
Mr. Realtor: Everything is negotiable. I know him so let's call him and see.
To make a long story short, we loved the house, the builder agreed to move and let us move in a few days early. Yeah!!
MORAL OF THE STORY: We are no longer the homeless family. We transferred that title over to someonelse. Much better them than me.
Move date is February 19th.

2009 BLOGGING GOAL A LITTLE LATE

Okay, is it already February with Valentine's Day right around the corner? I want to start my new years resolutions for 2009. Better late than never, right! It is so fun to stay updated on all our friends and family's blogs with pictures to tell each story. I tracked down some of my friends from the past on other blogs, so I hope no one minds. Besides I don't think I am the only one who has done this. Hope no one is offended, and if they are oh well. LOL. Okay now I am on to read some of your blogs and post a comment here or there. I guess you could say, "a girl's gotta have some down time - right?".

DAVE TURNS 31

Dave's brother Steffan wrote a short tribute to him for his birthday. I decided to steal the tribute and post it on our blog. There were several references made that I knew exactly what Steffan was referring to. Besides, he has actually lived with Dave longer than I have to date, but some things never change. Read it for yourself:

Every year on January 24th we celebrate the birthday of a special person. It is the day that Stevo's...ahem...little brother Big Dave was born. My birthday present to Big Dave this year will be my obligatory blog roast of him! I know him better than most, so this should be easy! I can sense Big Dave getting a little squeamish right about now...Big Dave and I are just 18 months apart in age, so we bascially spent our entire childhoods together. Dave was tall for his age, so we were always the same size as kids. The closeness in size and age resulted in us often times being treated like twins by our parents and other people in our lives. We also fought constantly! It typically started with words and ended in physical violence. As time went on, we were often critized by Ol' Ern for our gigantic eating habits...we eventually had to resort to covert operations to obtain necessary nutrients (snacks) without Ol' Ern hearing us! For if we were caught, we should surely die! Viva La Revolution!!! Character traits as a child- very ticklish, could make friends with anybody and had a great love of little lost puppies...he would bring them home and name them "Sport". He would love his "Sport" until Ma Busch sent the little lost puppy packin' down the road. He's always had a big heart and cares deeply for the feelings of others...some might say "sensitive"...until you pissed him off, then he turned into a dragon. As a teenager, Big Dave frequented many girlfriends. His hobbies included Nintendo, making mixed tapes complete with Bon Jovi, Def Leppard and Poison for his girlfriends and of course drinking Kool-Aid while watching his favorite movie, "Grease II". He also hosted numerous "chip N dip" parties to attract the ladies!As an adult, Big Dave has grown into a fruitful and productive citizen (accessories include bachelor's degree, well paying job and family). He has become quite the banker financial economist...guy. He always did well in math and it is now paying dividends...no Dave, I don't need an explanation of how exactly it is paying dividends!In summary, Big Dave is one of my best friends and confidantes...I tell him things I don't tell anyone else. I could write volumes on our childhood and the pychology behind it. He is absolutely one of my favorite people and if you haven't already met him, I highly recommend you go out of your way and make an effort to.

WHAT'S GAVIN BEEN UP TO?

Every day is some type of dress-up. You can count on a pirate/cowboy/police officer/firefighter/soldier all-in-one. It looks like he is a skeleton/knight in this picture.

Doing a little jig on the fireplace with his favorite pirate hat.

This was after he hit his head on the table and decided we needed the world's biggest band-aid to put on the cut and make it all feel better. When I took it off I think a little bit of hair came out with the band-aid. Opps!

Have you every been so tired you couldn't even stay awake for take-out Outback?

THE THINGS HAILEY LOVES IN LIFE

She loves her baths. When she gets out of the bath and I am getting her dressed, she decides to give her toes kisses. Why is it so dang cute when babies suck on their feet not adults? Hmmm.

She has a tricky little tongue. I think she is sticking it out at Gavin. He likes to give her an extra lift in the swing... the level of almost being launched out by her brother or swing sick.

All smiles and happy as can be.

She took a binkie for a very short time, before resorting to her fingers. She sucks her two middle fingers when she is tired. It looks like the sign for, "I love you".

Gavin also plays pretty good with her, rolling around on the floor in their PJ's. He nicknamed her, "Boo Boo". he is a good big brother and very helpful.